Seeking Water Change Opinions (for article)

[Seawitch]

For a beginner article, tell me what your opinions are about changing water:

1) How much do you change?

2) How often?

3) What do you recommend for beginners new to reefkeeping?

4) Tell me how much experience you have with SW?

5) Do you have a different opinion depending on size of tank?

6) Do you heat the new water before adding it?

Thank you

 

[Orko]

I have a 120 gallon display tank and a30 gallon sump I change 5 gallons every 2 weeks
U use RO water let it breath for a few days with a pump blowing air in it them mix in required salt then let it mix for a few more days.
Heating the water to the display tank temp is a good idea
Make sure the salinity is the same as your display tank.
Yes larger size larger water change however u do not want to do one so big it disrupts the ecosystem in the tank.
I have over 30 years with experience with marine aquariums.

 

[EmdeReef]

For a beginner article, tell me what your opinions are about changing water:

1) How much do you change?
10-50% - very important to match alkalinity if any sps are present

2) How often?
Aim for weekly but life happens...

3) What do you recommend for beginners new to reefkeeping?
Once a tank is cycled, it will go through a lot of ugly stages and water changes can help offset some. Weekly is a best practice IMO as it makes you stay in tune with your tank more.

4) Tell me how much experience you have with SW?
19

5) Do you have a different opinion depending on size of tank?
Smaller and especially newer tanks Seem to benefit from more frequent water changes.

6) Do you heat the new water before adding it?
My recommendation would be to heat the RODI water before mixing in the salt. Overall whether to heat or not would depend on the quantity changed, delivery method, and the tank size.

I don’t heat water, but let it stand overnight to reach close to room temperature. I also use a stepper pump to change water so even very cold water would not impact my tank’s temp. for Those doing manual water changes it’s a good idea for the water not to be more than a few degrees off from the tank.

Thank you

 

[Seawitch]

Thank you @Orko that's just what I wanted.

 

[Seawitch]

Thank you @EmdeReef

 

[magikfly]

1) How much do you change?
10%

2) How often?
Rarely, twice a year perhaps

3) What do you recommend for beginners new to reefkeeping?
Proper cycling is very important. Remember, each time new animals are added, a new (mini) cycle initiates. WC's can help

4) Tell me how much experience you have with SW?
10y give or take

5) Do you have a different opinion depending on size of tank?
I don't see myself doing or needing WC's on tanks larger than 150g

6) Do you heat the new water before adding it?
Yes.

Thank you[/QUOTE]

 

[lapin]

1) How much do you change? 10 %
2) How often? Per week
3) What do you recommend for beginners new to reefkeeping? Weekly
4) Tell me how much experience you have with SW? 7 years
5) Do you have a different opinion depending on size of tank? All things being equal, No
6) Do you heat the new water before adding it? Yes if more than 10 degrees difference

 

[Crabs McJones]

1) 40 gallon breeder with 20 gallon sump. I change out 10% of the total system volume (around 6 gallons)

2)Weekly (usually sundays)

3)do consistent water changes. There is almost no problem that cannot be fixed with a water change

4) over 3 years experience

5)tank size makes no difference as king as you follow the 10% rule.

6) yes, fresh saltwater is heated to the same temperature as the tank it's going into.

 

[Nick30G]

1) How much do you change? 20%

2) How often? Once every 2 weeks

3) What do you recommend for beginners new to reefkeeping? Probably weekly 10%

4) Tell me how much experience you have with SW? 1 Year

5) Do you have a different opinion depending on size of tank? Not particularly unless you have a tiny tank. Water changes are very important for trace elements/nutrient export

6) Do you heat the new water before adding it? No, I let the water at least come up to room temp. But i probably should heat it. I have never seen negative affects from it in my case. I would recommend beginners heat it to the tank temp.

 

[leepink23]

For a beginner article, tell me what your opinions are about changing water:

1) How much do you change? 20%

2) How often? Monthly

3) What do you recommend for beginners new to reefkeeping? 20% 2x month

4) Tell me how much experience you have with SW? 5 years with mixed reef

5) Do you have a different opinion depending on size of tank? Only had 75-150 gallons

6) Do you heat the new water before adding it? Yes and a power head as well

Thank you

 

[Gonebad395]

For a beginner article, tell me what your opinions are about changing water:

1) How much do you change? 4 gallons

2) How often? Every week

3) What do you recommend for beginners new to reefkeeping? Do your water changes it really does help. buy a brute container it really helps with wheels if needed for bigger tanks and water changes. Also try different salts and see what works for you and your tank there are plenty to choose from.

4) Tell me how much experience you have with SW? Omg a long time lol

5) Do you have a different opinion depending on size of tank? Just the amount you change.

6) Do you heat the new water before adding it? Yes !

Thank you

 

[davocean]

I would say a new tank it is very important to stay on top of WC's WEEKLY, at 10%, and this helps keep bad things from taking hold usually.

After a year running a more relaxed schedule can be fine, every other week, 20%, though my preference would still be weekly.

Me, 120g, weekly at 10% best as I can (life sometimes gets in the way of this)

I don't think tank size matters much, though of course smaller tanks may be more affected by greater volume or changes, param swings in doing so.

I try to come close to matching temps, though I just go by feel, what my hand feels in sump should be close to what I feel in new water bin, and if it's obvious to hand I will drop a heater in(If I used my mag 5 for water mixing a heater is usually not needed!)

Time in hobby, 33 years

 

[Seawitch]

@Gonebad395 how big is your tank? Thank you to @Gonebad395 @leepink23 @Nick30G @Crabs Mcjones @lapin @magikfly

 

[Gonebad395]

@Gonebad395 how big is your tank? Thank you to @Gonebad395 @leepink23 @Nick30G @Crabs Mcjones @lapin @magikfly

Sorry about that 29 gallon biocube

 

[Seawitch]

Sorry about that 29 gallon biocube

Gotcha. Thank you.

 

[NS Mike D]

1) How much do you change?

10 - 20% of total aquarium volume

2) How often?

I try weekly

3) What do you recommend for beginners new to reefkeeping?

20% weekly at first since this is seems to be a consensus and part of a good habit, .....

.....BUT, understand why you are doing water changes. Remember that a 20% water change will only remove 20% of what you are trying to remove (NO3 & PO4). New tanks consume much less nutrients than large mature tanks and we have the tendency to over feed our fish, so getting rid of this excess is important. As one adds corals and they grow that will consume more of the NO3 and PO4 that your fish produce as part of the nitrogen cycle thus out competing the algae.

Corals like stability, smaller more frequent changes are better.

4) Tell me how much experience you have with SW?

3+ years, 29 gallon mixed reef nano with 2 sumps

5) Do you have a different opinion depending on size of tank?

IMO, nano tank filtration (skimmers, refugiums, mechanical etc) are just not as efficient/effective as their big tank cousins, thus water changes can be very effective for nano tanks and cut back on bulking up a small tank with hardware.

I am still trying to understand if water changes are needed - I think they help keep resetting at tank's chemistry, but ideally no water changes should be necessary if your tank is effectively up-taking and exporting nutrients and you are replacing consumed elements - the Triton and similar methods are based on this concept.


6) Do you heat the new water before adding it?

I drop and heater and powerhead in my mixing bucket for 24 hours prior to use to get to equilibrium with my home's air and same temp as the tank. I also test for salinity since the directions for the salt I use (Reef Crystals) is for a salinity lower that I keep my tank so I need to add a about a 1/4cup more salt that the directions call for a 5 gallon batch.

 

[Seawitch]

Thank you @davocean and @NS Mike D

 

[andrewkw]

1) How much do you change?
A little less or a little more then 10%. 10-12 gallons on 112 gallon display. I increase the water change slightly if I am doing a lot of detritus removal. The reason for this is I am actually recycling most of my water change water to other tanks.

2) How often?
Every week. I think I've missed one week in the past 2 years. This is not to say my tank needs a weekly water change, but it's good for the tank and good for me to inspect everything with all the pumps off.

3) What do you recommend for beginners new to reefkeeping?
Weekly water changes, it's more work then monthly obviously but makes it 3x less likely you are going to actual need the water change, and the big thing when doing a non automated water change is you are examining the reef.

4) Tell me how much experience you have with SW?
This year will be my 14th with at least one reef.

5) Do you have a different opinion depending on size of tank?
The smaller the tank the higher the percentage of water change. Pico tanks 90-100% nano 20-50 larger tanks 20% or below - this is primarily because water changes are not cost effective and there is more work matching all your parameters since most salts don't mix at what a lot of people actually keep their tanks at.

6) Do you heat the new water before adding it?
Somewhat. I use an old pump that creates a lot of heat mixing but I don't actually check the temp.

How long you mix is usually a product of what salt you use. Some suggest overnight mixing and actually need it, others mix in 20 minutes and don't recommend long term mixing. My main reef certainly does not need a weekly water change but it gives me an opportunity to examine all the corals and clean equipment and remove detritus. With most of the water coming out "clean" I can reuse it on various other tanks - I have 4 separate systems. The smallest being a 10 gallon. There is little to no point testing the water in the tank unless there is an issue or for periodic confirmation things are in line since if there is an issue I can change 50% or even 100% with the used water I'm going to produce weekly anyway, and the main reef is frequently tested, dosed ect.

 

[redfishbluefish]

System: 90 G DT with 50 G Sump...estimated 115 gallons

1) How much do you change? and 2) How often?

Originally started with 15 gallons every week. This became too much of an aggravation, so I switched to 25 gallons twice a month, and this made water changes more likely to get done on time. Why 25 gallons....fits nicely in 32 gallon Brute and still able to move it about without spilling any.


3) What do you recommend for beginners new to reefkeeping?

The textbook answer is 10% a week. More critical is mixing technique.....
a.) use unheated water (it's counterintuitive, but calcium chloride dissolves easier/faster in cool water.)
b.) always add salt to the water, not the other way around. And, add the salt like you're salting popcorn. Don't "dump" a large volume of salt into water. Could result in micro environment of high alk/calc causing precipitation.
c.) use as much agitation as you can. (I use two old Koralia powerheads; a K4 and K8)
d.) do not add more salt than the recommended amount the water needs. That is, as example, I make 25 gallons of water that needs 15 cups of salt. If I'm waiting for the last 5 gallons of water to be made, do not add that 15 cups to the 20 gallons, in anticipation of adding the last 5 gallons of water. Reason is the alk/calc concentration might be high enough to cause precipitation.

4) Tell me how much experience you have with SW?

Coming up on 13 years.

5) Do you have a different opinion depending on size of tank?

Not so much size (although they are typically nano's) but whether they run a skimmer....no skimmer, larger or more frequent water changes.

6) Do you heat the new water before adding it?

Most definitely...if for anything, to get an accurate refractometer reading....don't trust the ATC on the refractometer. Cool water registers a higher refractive number.

 

[Seawitch]

Thank you @andrewkw and @redfishbluefish